Fun In The Sun

If I was smarter, I would have taken better notes of the different things that the boys did while we were away on holidays [definitely a holiday, not a vacation - thanks to Hammer for reminding me that I'm not American]. Then again, if I was smarter, I probably would have prevented at least 70% of the incidents that make this blog entertaining.

I was dabbling with the idea of writing this post in a diary style;
-Day 1- Monkey Boy fell into the pool head first and nearly drowned

The main reason that wouldn't have worked is because I tuned all the way out on holiday. It started early, I was asking people to remind me what day it is before I had fully turned pink. I take that as a good sign, one slow moving sunnt day blurred into the next.

In case you are wondering, Monkey Boy did actually fall into the pool but was never really in danger of drowning. His mother was on hand to lift him out of the pool by the ankle. I don't think that it was related to that incident but both he and his brother showed a reluctance to get into the pool. They were only too happy to play around the pool bank all day long and they were very diligent about making sure that anything and everything that was left lying around went into the pool. The inflatible loungers, the plastic cups, the few small toys we had brought with us all got dunked. We were grateful that the sun beds were too heavy for them to push in and everyone quicly realized that books and MP3 players were all to be left well out of their reach.

Bearing in mind their wariness of the pool, we probably should have realised that a trip to the beach wasn't a great idea. They loved the sand pit in their Nana's house though so we packed up and went. Apart from the fact that - they hated the heat, they wouldn't wear the flip flops we got them so they couldn't stand in the hot sand, they were intimidated by the crows and the noise, they didn't like the feel of the sand on their hands once we set them down on a blanket and the moving water absolutely terrified them - it was a roaring success. We may never go to the beach again.

The heat over there really sapped their energy. We got to sleep until nine most mornings and one day their afternoon nap was four hours long. It was only partly down to selfishness that we left them that long, we knew we were going out that evening and would be out late. It was very different than some of the struggles we had been having getting them down for their nap at home. At one point we said to them "time for a sleep"The normal reaction varies from "NOOOOOOO!!!" on a good day to a full blown screaming fit on a bad day. This time the reaction was for Fat Chops to toddle out of the room. I thought it was a bid for escape but by the time we caught up with him he was trying to climb into his cot. They must have slept for about 18 hours a day. I managed to read two books in a week and I'm not talking about picture books either!

We went away with a good portion of Hannah's family; her mother, her three sisters, her brother in law, five nieces, a nephew and the friend of her youngest sister. I know going away with your in laws might not be everyones idea of a good time but I get on really well with my wife's family. Not to mention, when you have twin toddlers and want to try and relax a bit yourself it is very much a case of the more, the merrier. Instead of Hannah and myself having to retrieve the detritus from the bottom of the pool, it became a diving game for the kids. When it got too hot, there were plenty of volunteers to sit inside with them and watch cartoons. They spent hours following their cousin around as if he was the gerneral of a not-so-intimidating three man army.

Base camp was the driveway at the side of the villa. This was on a fairly steep incline and the army's training consisted of running up and down it. Running up was just hard work. Running down was an exercise in suppressing your self preservation instincts. The effects of gravity meant that Privates Fat Chops and Monkey Boy were running far quicker than they were comfortable with. Their expression was a mixture of exhileration and sheer terror that melted into relief and amusement as the ground levelled out. If only we could have got that in a photo.